Helipad officially opens at Health Sciences Centre

Manitoba's only hospital-based rooftop heliport officially went into operation at Winnipeg's Health Sciences Centre on Monday.

"With this site open, it will be easier and faster for Manitobans to get the emergency care they need," Health Minister KelvinGoertzen said at a news conference at HSC.

He was joined at the conference by executives from HSC, the Winnipeg Regional Health Authorityand STARS air ambulance.

"Opening the heliport today is a game changer in terms of our ability to provide timely access to life-saving care," said Helen Clark of the WRHA. "Previously, helicopter air ambulances landed at the airport and transferred patients by ground ambulance. Removing that extra step will make a huge difference when minutes count."

CamHekeof STARS has said it should reduce transport times by up to half an hour.

Although thehelipadhas been billedas Manitoba's first for a hospital, it's actually not. Alanding pad wasbuilt atop Seven Oaks Hospital in 1981 but it was never was operational, according to theWRHA.

A spokeswoman for the WRHA said that was long before the authority existed so there is no information about why it was never used.

The HSC heliport sits on the roof of thenew, 91,000-square-foot Diagnostic Centre of Excellence, located between pediatric inpatient units of Children's Hospital and the Ann Thomas Building.

The diagnostic centre houses critical care services, including intensive care units, operating theatres and emergency departments.

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The Diagnostic Centre of Excellence will house the province's first dedicated pediatric MRI and a new CT scanner, three new adultangiographysuites and a shared adult/pediatric cardiaccatheterizationlab when it opens later in the new year.

"The ability to land right at HSC, with direct access to our specialists, will improve survival and quality of life for patients," saidPerry Gray,HSC'schief operating officer.

STARS testedthe pad on Friday, five years after plans for it werefirst announced.

Monday's opening means patient transport can begin immediately.